How to Add Depth to Wildlife Paintings

Wildlife artist Su Lees explains how blurring edges and adding texture can give your work a whole new dimension

A condition of my latest commission was that it would help fund a trip for me to visit an elephant conservation research project in Botswana. The ultimate aim is to raise funds for them through the sale of works based on my visit, so elephants were the natural choice.

For this painting, I wanted a relaxing scene of elephants just going about their daily lives. I drew my inspiration from a previous visit to Amboseli National Park in Kenya where we saw many herds of elephant.

The key to any painting is having some knowledge and understanding of your subject, no matter what it is. Whether you paint with a highly detailed or loose approach, such an insight brings the subject to life. When depicting an animal in the wild you also need good points of reference, as they differ physically from captive animals: think of toned athletes versus couch potatoes. Seeing them in their natural environment is ideal – with all the beauty and harshness that entails – but captive animals can help you understand the way they move and get a ‘feeling’ for them.

1. Plan the compositionThe first stage is research and planning. Time spent on composition and the final drawings of the elephants is, for me, time saved later in the painting stage. A thin wash of acrylic over the drawing can fi the graphite pencil and give a base for the painting – the colour of the wash depends on the final painting. I like to use oils straight from the tube and apply them in a thin opaque layer. I avoid media such as linseed oil, although I do occasionally use Liquin if I want a quicker drying time. The brushes I use for oil painting are actually a mix of watercolour and acrylic, as I prefer the softer bristles.

2. Suggest depthAs I progress through a painting, I work from the horizon towards the foreground as this feels like the natural progression for me. To give a sense of distance, the colours I used were muted and the detail was loose. The hill is Observation Hill in Amboseli National Park so I wanted it to look like the actual place as much as possible. Here I used my reference photographs to help with the colours and general look of the vegetation and trees.

3. Landscape gardeningThe water at the base of the hill is surrounded by strong, green vegetation growth whilst the soil and grasses towards the elephants become drier and sparse. To create depth, I kept the detail loose and, as I moved forward in the painting, I used warmer colour mixes, giving more definition to the grass and other vegetation with stronger shadows, highlights and texture. The ground colour of this area of Amboseli is very pale so I kept to a palette of soft greys, bluish pinks and creamy colour mixes, whilst the shadows are a warm, earthy purple.

4. The main attraction!Now the fun bit – the elephants themselves. Taking into account that they mud-bathe and dust themselves, I used the same colours on them that I have used for the soil. I carefully block in, starting with the shadows on the underside of the body. Mid-tone grey covers the rest of the legs, with the pale cream and pinkish landscape colours highlighting the back, shoulders and head. I ‘mould’ the body using the brushstrokes in the direction of the wrinkles.

5. Add storytelling detailsUsing a brush loaded with a darker or lighter tone than is on the canvas, draw it through the wet paint to create lines that imply wrinkles. Add a few high and low lights to emphasise the effect. Study your references to get a good feel for the pattern of wrinkles and the way they ‘flow’ over the body surface. A subtle story can be added to the painting by making the lower parts of the animals’ bodies darker to indicate that they have been in the water and that the lighter soil has been washed away.

6. Camouflage timeI added a hint of the mid-green that was used in the landscape onto the lower part of the body and upper legs. You can use landscape colours on the animals to help make them part of your painting’s environment. On the legs, particularly nearer the feet, I added a pale mauve into the dark shadows to imply reflected light from the ground. On the parts of the legs catching the light, I added a little of the pinkish mix and a touch of pale blue to make the bottom of the legs look dustier than the tops.

7. Dry brush in textureOnce the paint is dry, I used a dry brush to gently go over a few areas of the body and legs with some of the colours previously used. This can add a bit of rough texture to the skin. The foreground details are more defined than those in the background, yet it’s still fairly loose. The elephants have more careful brushwork than the rest of the painting. This gives the impression of detail and helps them stand out against the looser feel of the landscape.

8. Finishing touchesThe dust was added once the painting was dry; using dry brush strokes, I scrubbed an uneven thin application of the pale mauve and pink mixes around the feet. Next, I used the mop brush to soften edges and lift out any heavier areas with too much paint. By lightly brushing over the wet paint with it, details can be muted, colour blends softened and unwanted brushstrokes flattened – all of which are useful as an aid to create depth in a painting.﻿